I became a heart-stealing thief in Azure Files

As the rustling sounds drew closer, Amamiya vaguely saw a girl with a slightly aloof gait and a tail trailing behind her.

She pushed aside the bushes in front of her and walked towards Amamiya and her group with a fierce look on her face.

"Hey, who are you people? Why didn't you come in through the front door?"

"you……"

The girl's words abruptly stopped the moment she saw Amamiya.

Mimori, Kaika, Izuna, and Shizuko became alert, even thinking that an inevitable battle was about to begin.

Unexpectedly, Amamiya simply smiled gently and said a single sentence that terrified Amamiya into tears.

"Kinugawa Kasumi...right? I've heard Chairman Hina mention you."

"Can we talk?"

Chapter 95 Are all of Gersena's students this extreme?

"Is this Kinukawa Kasumi from the Gehenna Academy Hot Spring Development Club? I've heard President Hina mention you before."

Inside the 'resort' tent belonging to the hot spring development department, Amamiya calmly repeated the same words in a gentle tone that made Kasumi's body react and tremble at the mere mention of her name.

"Woo-ga—"

Startled, the girl turned pale, her teeth chattering, and she instinctively glanced around like a guilty thief.

She breathed a sigh of relief after noticing the petite yet imposing white-haired girl in military uniform who had left a deep impression on her.

"Sensei..."

Her golden eyes reflected displeasure, and she spoke with lingering resentment, "Don't keep bringing up that scary name... We just wanted to talk to you..."

"You...you mean...could you..."

"Tone it down a bit... that... aura..."

"This is horrifying..."

Amamiya feigned confusion and gave an "Oh".

"Xia, what kind of temperament are you referring to?"

The four girls from the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) group, sitting on the other two sides of the table, also turned their gazes toward Kasumi.

Izuna: "Huh? Is there something strange about you, my lord? Izuna doesn't sense anything..."

Mimori: "Um... I think Sensei actually has a very gentle temperament..."

Kaika: "Mmm~ I think so too! I don't know why, but Sensei seems like an adult who's really good at 'festivals'."

Shizuko: "Sensei's temperament is indeed very special... with a very attractive depth."

Chise: "So cute, all fluffy, I want to touch it."

Chise's comments, so different from the usual style of painting, made Kasumi take another serious look at Amamiya.

Then, covered in a fine layer of sweat, she shrank her neck and shook her head.

'I really don't understand why she would think that way... Sensei's aura is so terrifying, can't you guys sense it?'

"It's just a feeling... there's something about Sensei that..."

"A similar, intimidating aura to that short committee chairman..."

Then you're right.

Amamiya silently turned off the two aura-type abilities that could create a unique 'Final Judge' aura: [Malignant Charm - Aura Enhancement] (Kayoko's bond skill) and [Final Prelude] (Hina's bond skill).

After replacing it with [Bad Girl Temperament] (Lanwu Bond Skill), Amamiya coughed lightly and began to inquire about the situation at the hot spring development department.

"Kasumi...why is the hot spring development department here?"

Twisting her clothes and stammering, she didn't dare to look up, afraid that if she did, she would meet Xia's scrutinizing, purplish eyes. Suddenly, she felt the oppressive feeling surrounding her dissipate.

She swallowed hard, then stiffly looked up—

She met Amamiya's gaze, which seemed to be exactly the same as hers, with a 'wild and unruly' quality.

'Strange... Was that terrifying sense of oppression just an illusion?'

The doubts in my heart vanished in an instant.

After a brief moment of confusion, Xia naturally felt a great sense of affinity due to their 'similar temperament'.

She immediately felt less nervous.

After relaxing, the petite girl, with her hands on her hips, threw her head back and laughed three times in a very villainous manner.

"Ha~ha~ha!"

After laughing, she leaned closer with the look of a close friend and sat down naturally next to Amamiya.

"Sensei, why are you asking such a pointless question!"

"Since you know something about us... then you should also know the mission of our hot spring development department, right?"

"The hot spring exists, therefore I exist!"...No, it should be said that even without the hot spring, we will still be here!

Kasumi's series of sudden and dramatic actions successfully triggered a hushed conversation among the girls of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Mimori: 'Unexpectedly... bold.'

Shizuko: 'Is this the style of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons?'

Izuna: 'Oh... it seems like my lord has suddenly become a little naughty...'

Izuna: 'But my wicked lord is also quite charming!'

Hai Xiang: 'The negotiation style in the Gehenna region is truly unique!'

Chise: 'The phantom thief, even when he's bad, is still adorable.'

Amamiya, who caught Chise's voice, was extremely surprised: "...?"

He rubbed his temples, eliminating Chise's 'radio interference', and then asked with a hint of helplessness, "So you guys are really developing a hot spring?"

"Anyway, we just need to figure out how to dig a hot spring! That's why we're here!"

"Did you find it?"

Amamiya's blunt question made Kasumi, who had been very confident just a moment ago, feel a little guilty and disappointed.

【~???~】(from Kasumi)

Not yet...

After a brief moment of dejection, Xia immediately raised her head with great confidence: "Ahem... But anyway, we'll find it soon! I have a very strong intuition! This island resort must have the hot springs we're looking for!"

“There’s an underwater volcano near this island…and underwater volcanoes turn deep seawater into treasure-filled hot springs! My sense of smell tells me…now, we just need a key to unlock this treasure…”

"We need to find this key to unlock the door to the treasure vault... and excavate the hot spring!"

Deep seawater...hot springs? Seriously?

If you accidentally blow up a real underwater volcano, it could sink the entire resort island, right?

Even excluding the possibility of blowing up the island... deep-sea volcano hot springs... even if they could be extracted, they would definitely be highly toxic brine pools, right?

Seeing that Kasumi seemed to intend to continue her long-winded description of the benefits of the 'underwater hot spring', Amamiya waved her hand, interrupting her.

What happens after the hot spring is dug out?

Kasumi was taken aback at first, then blinked blankly, seemingly bewildered by Amamiya's question.

After a long pause, she finally uttered, "Eh?"

"After it's dug out..."

After a brief moment of thought, she said excitedly, "Of course, we should build a hot spring resort around this hot spring!"

Amamiya didn't know what to say.

"That's it..."

He slowly nodded, then exchanged glances with the girls of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

Shizuko: 'Are they really the strongest force on this island...?'

Hai Xiang: 'This sounds so interesting!'

Mimori: 'Your enthusiasm is being used in a strange way...?'

Izuna: 'Undersea hot spring...'

"Well... Kasumi, let me ask you another question. Your hot spring development department came here through a 'resort usage rights' contract, right?"

"Sensei, you even know this?!...Wait, how did Sensei know this?"

Amamiya: "..."

Well, it seems the hot spring development department didn't notice the problem either...

Or rather, based on Amamiya's understanding of Gehenna's students... even if they noticed the problem, they probably wouldn't care.

In the event of a contract dispute, the probability of students from Gehenna choosing to resolve the issue by force is probably the highest among all university campuses.

After all... this is how Gehenna usually acts in an extreme way.

"Where did you get the contract? Did you buy it online?"

Xia opened her mouth slightly, her expression one of utter disbelief.

"..."

After a brief silence, she looked at Amamiya suspiciously: "Sensei... how do you know so much? Did you just activate the legendary 'Heart Thief' ability, infiltrating my inner world... and 'stealing' my thoughts?"

Amamiya smirked and shook his head dramatically.

He really just guessed at some ridiculous reason...

To everyone's surprise, they actually guessed right.

"That's right... we did buy the lease for this resort... and it was quite cheap. We thought we could develop hot springs here, and the chairman can't control this place, so we bought it."

Xia's casual, matter-of-fact words inadvertently dealt a heavy blow to Shizuko.

Bought...

Bought online...

Very cheap...

So, the Hai family spent such a large sum of money... doesn't that make them look more and more like suckers?!

"Xia, the contract you just bought is a forgery."

As expected, after hearing this, Xia simply raised an eyebrow, showing no surprise whatsoever, and quickly revealed an indifferent expression.

Their hot spring development department doesn't care about that... their only goal is to develop the hot springs here, nothing more.

So what if the contract is fake? They're just indulging in the ultimate sense of accomplishment of 'the hot spring emerging from the ground'—what happens after the hot spring emerges is none of their business.

If conditions permit, a hot spring resort could be built.

If that's not possible, then just consider it a pleasure.

"Oh...I see. Then, Sensei, can you tell me who forged this document?"

Kasumi asked the question casually, but Amamiya understood the implication behind her words.

Their hot spring development department... can ignore parking lots, rest areas and accommodations, as well as the initial investment in exploring hot springs... to them, this is just a small loss.

But the mastermind behind the scheme that cheated them out of their money... they absolutely must teach them a lesson.

"It's the Caesars Group."

It was Shizuko who spoke.

She tried her best to suppress the disgust and anger she felt at being fooled by Caesar, but her calm tone couldn't hide her hostility: "We plan to launch a 'hunt' against the Caesar Group, who orchestrated all of this..."

"While recovering our losses, we will unite everyone at the island resort... and connect them into a community of shared interests."

Shizuko's request made Kasumi narrow her eyes slightly.

Their hot spring development department could afford to disregard this small loss...